


I Guess I Grew Up

by maelstromdeparture



Series: On the Right Road [19]
Category: NCT (Band), Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Brothers, Growth, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maelstromdeparture/pseuds/maelstromdeparture
Summary: Soobin's not really sure how he got the job at Jin's and the subsequent chaos of being involved forever in the lives of his friends, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. Jin's is the center of their community and everything that happens seems to make it's way to Jin's before it ever goes anywhere else. Besides, if he didn't work at Jin's he wouldn't have ever met, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai, and he wouldn't be nearly as happy without them.
Series: On the Right Road [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723291
Comments: 17
Kudos: 59





	I Guess I Grew Up

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this fic covers a lot of ground, from the very beginning of this series timewise until about when hyunjin first moves in with changbin. there's a lot of people in this fic too, i tried to tag people that had actual lines but there are more people mentioned than there are tagged. 
> 
> WARNGINGS!!!   
> \- implied past abuse  
> \- that's it that's the warning
> 
> i think that's all the important stuff so enjoy! :)

Applying for the Jin’s café had been an impulsive decision, but Soobin would be glad he had for the rest of his life. He hadn’t thought he had the qualifications to work there, he didn’t know anything about coffee and only knew that he loved baking and wanted to pursue that as a career one day. At the time he had been baffled as to why Jin had hired him, it didn’t take very long to figure out that Jin had been desperate for employees at the time and his standards for hiring people consisted almost solely of them not being an asshole to Jungkook. But apparently hiring Soobin had started a trend for Jin as he continued to hire young employees over employees with any kind of experience for the next several years. For six months Soobin and Jungkook were the sole employees of Eat Jin’s, Jungkook didn’t talk to Soobin for months which had worried Soobin at first before he realized that Jungkook didn’t talk to anyone, which is why he didn’t take orders and just made the drinks. It surprised him the first time that he got to work and it was just him and Jungkook working though, but he hadn’t questioned it, figuring that if Jungkook wasn’t okay with it then Seokjin wouldn’t have scheduled it like that. It was five months before Jungkook said a word to Soobin, though he had gotten comfortable enough with him by the third month to touch his shoulder if he was behind him so that they didn’t run into each other. But it surprised him the day he was working the opening shift alone and Jungkook pushed the door to the kitchen open, pulling his apron over his head.

“Soobinnie, Jin-hyung wants you in the back,” he said as if it was a completely normal thing. Soobin hesitated surprised to hear his name coming from Jungkook.

“Yeah, okay, Jungkook-hyung,” he agreed nodding, “are you running the front then?” Jungkook nodded.

“Seokjin-hyung wants to teach you to make some of the food,” he explained. Soobin nodded grinning at that.

“Okay, that’s awesome,” said Soobin nodding and moving over towards the door. “I already checked dates for all the food in the fridge and started the brewed coffee, hyung, you probably need to check the espresso beans in the machine though.” Jungkook nodded and went to check as Soobin entered the backroom. Seokjin distracted him quickly from his thoughts as he started talking about the pastries the minute Soobin walked into the kitchen, but Soobin couldn’t keep himself from randomly smiling every time he thought about it throughout the day. He was glad he had somehow ended up on Jungkook’s list of people worth talking to.

Soobin thinks that one of the best parts of working for Jin’s is that it is a central location for the surrounding streets. Everyone on the surrounding streets comes to them for coffee which means that the Jin’s employees are always the first ones to know about anything going on. They’re the first to meet new people, hear the latest gossip, and know about the newest stores. Which means that they’re the first stop that Jackson comes to when his uncle actually does buy him a hybrid. Youngjae for all intents and purposes seems like the perfect Samoyed hybrid, but he’s quiet and nervous, and seems to have no idea how to act. It’s Jungkook that quietly whispered to Soobin one morning after Jackson and Youngjae have left after getting breakfast that he thinks Youngjae might be worried he’ll be sent back if he does anything wrong. Which makes sense, because Jackson had insisted that his uncle only buy him a hybrid older than Jungkook, which would mean Youngjae had probably already had at least one owner and had somehow ended up back in a shop. Mark, who had been hired as Bangtan’s first nurse around the time that Soobin had first started at Jin’s, seemed to agree with Jungkook as he had asked them a couple days later if they thought that might be the problem. Mark is in a better position to help the two than Jungkook and Soobin are and in a couple more weeks it’s obvious that Jackson and Youngjae have talked about it, because Youngjae’s a little more open with the rest of them and a little less hesitant. It’s a few months after Youngjae joins their group, that Hoseok and Yoongi start showing up at Jin’s. They had recently moved to the area and always came by at odd times, since Hoseok was a backup dancer for a company at the time. Yoongi very rarely came by and so far Soobin and Seokjin had been the only ones that had actually met him. He was completely different than any other hybrid either of them had ever met. He had no hesitation in speaking his mind, he was a little intimidating and didn’t try to make himself seem softer in anyway. Seokjin took a like to him immediately and desperately wanted to know what made him so different. The answer had to lie with Hoseok somehow, but Soobin and Seokjin were both baffled how the very bright older man was any different than any of their friends were, but somehow he must be. Jinyoung joins their group that same year, between Yoongi and Hoseok moving closer and Hoseok starting the dance school. Mark had found him on the side of the street that fall and had taken him home. He was quiet and reserved though not to the extent Jungkook was and far more skittish than Youngjae was, which made sense with his history. He didn’t come with Mark very often, preferring to stay at home, but it was always nice to catch up with him when he did come by with Mark.

The next year is probably the most uneventful of Soobin’s time at Jin’s. Jisung and Chan joining their group is the only thing that happened all year that was worth recalling. And it was just Soobin’s luck that he hadn’t worked that night and had missed the actual chaos of meeting them, and had instead heard it all from Jungkook as they opened the next morning. It was nice to see Jungkook excited about meeting new people, Soobin hadn’t ever seen that happen before. Jungkook hadn’t even started talking to Mark until recently, but the older boy was practically giddy as he told Soobin about how Chan seemed nice and Jisung was cute and how they both wanted to learn and that they were coming over for dinner with him and Jin on Sunday and how he wanted to show Jisung his video games and that Jisung was Soobin’s age, but a lot smaller and probably wouldn’t grow to be much taller according to Namjoon-hyung. The first time Soobin meets the two of them isn’t until a week later, late at night when he’s working the closing shift alone. Soobin remembers Jisung being tiny. His hoodie practically swallowed him and the fluffy ears framing his face didn’t help with the over all smallness, and it really didn’t help that he was holding tightly to Chan’s elbow and practically hiding behind him.

“Welcome to Jin’s,” called Soobin already starting to add their drinks to the machine. “You’re Chan and Jisung, right? Iced Americano two extra shots of espresso and a hot chocolate with cinnamon, right?” Both Chan and Jisung looked visibly startled.

“Yeah, how did you know that?” asked Chan surprised.

“Jungkook-hyung talks about you a lot,” said Soobin nodding, “and I open with hyung a lot. Jin-hyung says I’m legally required to double check that you don’t want food.” Chan glances at his watch and then at Jisung.

“Do you want food now or do you want to wait another hour and get food on the way back?” he asked.

“Now, please, hyung,” said Jisung softly and Chan nodded.

“Alright, what kind?” asked Soobin gesturing to the case. “There are scones in the back too if you want, but you can’t tell Jin-hyung.” Jisung’s face lit up at that.

“Really?” he asked, “but Jin-hyung doesn’t sell them at night?”

“That’s why we can’t tell him I sold you one,” said Soobin with a laugh. “There’s cherry and chocolate.”

“Can I have a cherry, please?” asked Jisung and Soobin added it to the order.

“Anything else for you?” he asked. Chan picked one of the sandwiches and then paid when Soobin told him the total. It’s the quietest Soobin can remember Jisung being and the smallest he had ever been too. Soobin also distinctly remembers that half of Chan’s sandwich had gone to Jisung the moment they sat down. Soobin thinks that meeting Jisung and Chan is a big part of why when Beomgyu ended up at Bangtan, he offered to take him home with him.

The next year held a lot of changes in their lives. The first being Bangtan’s first PA being hired in the form of Moon Taeil. He’s nice, a little stiff with them for the first few weeks, but very nice. Once he settles in he opens up and Soobin looks forward to seeing him during the mornings that he runs over to get breakfast for the Bangtan staff. He and Taehyung alternate mornings on who brings breakfast for the staff, which means Soobin doesn’t get to know Taeil very well since he usually works the mornings that Taehyung gets the food. The next change comes only a month later when Seokjin starts looking for another person to hire for Jin’s as they had become too busy for the three of them to be able to handle working the café alone any longer. Yeonjun entered their lives a little more chaotically than Taeil had though not nearly as chaotically as Jisung and Chan did. Soobin was working with Jungkook while Jin was in the office, trying to get together everything he would need for interviews. Jin was trying to find another person to hire as there were more people frequenting the coffee shop than there used to be and they really did need another person to help. As it was, they were mid-rush with Soobin taking order, talking to customers, and doing food, while Jungkook ran the espresso machines trying to keep up with the line. It took a minute for Soobin to realize that someone was holding up the line and yelling at Jungkook.

“I’m so sorry, give me just a moment,” said Soobin to the boy that was next in line. He had bleached blonde hair and just nodded looking towards the end of the counter where the customer was continuing to yell at Jungkook brandishing his drink threateningly.

“Sir,” interrupted Soobin trying to get to where he could step in front of Jungkook who seemed to realize this and stepped back slightly. “Is there a problem?”

“That stupid fucking useless bunny made my drink wrong,” said the man gesturing angrily at Jungkook. “You shouldn’t have your fuck toy making drinks anyway.”

“Jungkook-hyung’s not mine,” stated Soobin, “and if you’re going to be rude you can leave.”

“Fix my drink and refund me for my time. I’m going to be late to work because of you,” said the man leaning forward over the counter.

“Soobinnie, just let me fix the drink,” said Jungkook quietly.

“Oh now it talks. Shut the fuck up you stupid whore,” snapped the man.

“Hey!” yelled Soobin trying to get the man’s attention off Jungkook who had taken a step back and looked a little panicked. “Leave him the fuck alone. Get out.”

“You’re not the owner, some little brat of a highschooler isn’t going to boss me around. I paid for this drink give me my refund and my drink,” said the man.

“Sir, you ordered a medium coffee with extra cream, Jungkook-hyung didn’t make that fucking drink, I did and it’s right,” said Soobin, “brewed coffee and food is my job. You got your order, I handed it to you at the register. Get out now.”

“Fix my drink. I’m a paying customer I have rights,” said the man angrily, “fix it now or remove that abomination from your workspace. People and bunnies shouldn’t work together. I don’t want to see that.”

“Well, I don’t want to see someone with their head as far up their ass as yours is either. Don’t like it then don’t be here,” said Soobin. The man fumed at that and tried to come up with something else to say before throwing his coffee at Soobin and swearing violently at him. Soobin yelped and stumbled back as the hot coffee splashed all over him, soaking through his shirt and burning his skin.

“Hey!” yelled several different people at once.

“Get out. That’s assault. You have no right to throw hot liquid at anyone,” said Jungkook glaring at the man.

“If you have such a problem with hybrids working for their owners then go somewhere else,” said one of the women standing nearby glaring at him, “you’re holding up the line and Jungkook makes the best cappuccino this side of Seoul. I have places to be and you’re keeping the boys from working.” The man ignored her and tried to lean over the counter to grab at Jungkook who ducked out of the way and turned to Soobin trying to make sure he was okay. The blonde boy that had been next in line grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled the man away from the counter as hard as he could.

“They told you to leave multiple times. Get out,” he said, “or I’ll call the cops. How’s that sound?” The man fought a little as the blonde boy pushed him out the door as best he could. The door to the office opened as one of the other customers helped the boy push the man out the door, also threatening to call the cops. Jungkook was trying to help Soobin get the soaked apron off.

“Are you okay, Soobin-ah?” asked Jungkook worried.

“I’m not sure actually,” said Soobin frowning, “my chest hurts where he threw it.”

“Kookie, Soobin-ah?” asked Jin stepping out of the office, setting the files on the counter.

“What happened?” he asked bewildered.

“Someone threw hot coffee all over Soobin,” said Jungkook looking up. “I think it burned him.” He lifted one of Soobin’s wrists so Seokjin could see his forearm that was definitely turning red.

“He was yelling at Jungkook-hyung,” said Soobin frowning. “I think I made him mad, but he wouldn’t stop.”

“Shit, okay, there’s burn cream in the office,” said Seokjin, “Kook-ah, if you’ll help him find it, I can take over register for a bit.”

“Do we need to call a doctor?” asked Jungkook hesitantly as he started to corral Soobin in the direction of the office.

“Unless it starts to blister it’s probably okay,” said Seokjin, “you’ll need a new shirt though, Soobin-ah. Once you’ve found the burn cream you know where the key to the apartment is, head upstairs you can borrow one of mine, alright?”

“Yes, hyung,” agreed Soobin nodding.

“You’re okay, right? It doesn’t hurt too bad?” asked Jungkook, “you should’ve just let him yell at me, Soobinnie.”

“No, I shouldn’t have,” complained Soobin, “and it doesn’t hurt too bad now. It hurt a lot at first, but it’s just hot and stings now.” Jungkook helps him find the burn cream and then Soobin heads upstairs to change shirts and apply the burn cream. By the time he gets back the rush is a little slower and things seem to have calmed down. The blonde boy is sat at one of the tables with an iced drink by himself and the woman that had tried to help intervene was near the end of the bar. She nodded when he reappeared.

“Soobin-ssi, you’re okay, right?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m alright, thank you,” said Soobin nodding. She nodded.

“Good, good. Jungkook-ssi and Seokjin-ssi both said you would be but I felt like I needed to make sure before I left for work. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said nodding before turning towards the door.

“Thank you, we’ll see you tomorrow,” called Soobin before turning to Jin. “Hyung, I can take registers again.”

“Okay, good, because the boy here for the interview is waiting,” said Jin nodding, “Jungkook-ah, said he helped throw that man out of the building?” Jin gestured to the blonde boy at the table and Soobin nodded.

“Yeah,” said Soobin nodding, “it’s good he helped, I’m not sure what we’d have done if that man had actually attempted to climb over the counter.” Seokjin nodded.

“Alright, tell me if you need anything,” he said. “Or if you start to feel worse.”

“We’ll be okay, hyung,” said Soobin waving him off, “but I’ll let you know.” Seokjin nodded and grabbed the folder he needed for the interview from under the counter before heading over to the table with the blonde boy and Soobin turned to the next customer. The next morning Soobin opens with Yeonjun for the first time and another member of the Jin’s staff was added to their group.

Yeonjun thankfully has no problem with Jungkook not really talking much to him, though he tends to work more with Soobin than he does with Jin or Jungkook. They often find themselves either closing or opening together while Jin and Jungkook would take whichever shift the two of them weren’t working. This means that Soobin learns a lot about Yeonjun in those first few months. That he’s working to pay for college, that he’s going to school for hybrid medicine because he wants to help hybrids and there are many faults with the system that revolves around hybrids and Yeonjun wants to make a difference in one of them. He learns that Yeonjun’s family hates that he’s chosen to pursue this and keep pressuring him to change to ‘real’ medicine, but Yeonjun’s firm that this is what he wants. He learns that Yeonjun is exhausted almost all the time, from the constant classes and working and dealing with his family. By the fourth month Soobin can confidently say that Yeonjun is his best friend. Yeonjun’s family kicks him out and he moves in with Soobin the same month that Hoseok hires Hoshi to work for Hope On the Street and Hoshi and Wonwoo both become regulars at Jin’s. The two of them are a fun kind of chaos and fit in easily with their group of regulars. That’s also the year that BamBam moves in with Jackson and Youngjae surprisingly has no problem with it, BamBam likes to claim that he triggers all of the Got Books’ crew’s hyung instincts and he’s probably right. JB joins Mark and Jinyoung that year as well only a little after BamBam moved in with Jackson and Youngjae. JB comes by the café more often than Jinyoung does and is friendly, though seems to be a little unsure how he’s supposed to interact with people. Jinyoung starts coming by more frequently, slowly starting to tagalong with JB every time and Soobin is glad that Jinyoung seems to be doing better, he’s braver now that he has someone to be brave with. Chan’s producing career really starts to take off that year as well and he and Jisung travel a lot meeting with different artists around the world. The first time that Chan has to travel somewhere that he can’t take Jisung with him Jisung stays with Jackson and BamBam over Got Books and they see him every day.

It’s roughly two years before Soobin can pinpoint anything truly interesting happening again. Chan and Jisung end up becoming pretty successful, Hoseok hires Momo, a handful of more shops in their area open up and they gain more and more regulars as time passes. They meet Jeno and Jaemin for the first time and then Jimin gets adopted by Namjoon and he and Taehyung become almost inseparable. With Bangtan’s business doing better Taehyung and Jimin take over getting breakfast for the staff every morning and they don’t see Mark nearly as often as they once did in the mornings, seeing him far more regularly at night instead. Renjun is the next addition and at that point Soobin and Yeonjun have lived together for several years and have talked extensively about watching their friends around them adopt hybrids and how much their friends have grown and changed since they first met them. Which is how when one day a cop car shows up outside of Bangtan and they pull a hysterical and young cat hybrid out of the back and drag him into Bangtan, Soobin doesn’t hesitate to offer a place when Taehyung who had been in Jin’s talking to him at the time quietly mentions that they’re running out of places that will take hurt hybrids and he’s not sure what Namjoon-hyung will do if they can’t find a place for him since the shelters aren’t an option.

“Yeonjun-hyung,” started Soobin and Yeonjun nodded.

“We have room,” he agreed, “but he’s yours, okay? I don’t want his ownership rights. I don’t want to own another person.” Soobin nodded.

“Jin-hyung!” he called, “I’m going across the street!”

“To Bangtan?” asked Jin from the back and joining them out front. “Oh my, what’s happened now? Tae, where is Joon going to put another hybrid?”

“We don’t know, hyung,” said Taehyung nodding.

“We’ll take him,” said Soobin, “that’s why I’m going across the street, hyung.”

“You will?” asked Taehyung and Jin both surprised.

“Can you feasibly do that?” asked Jin and Soobin nodded.

“We’ve done the math, hyung, we can take him,” said Soobin. Seokjin nodded.

“Alright, I’m coming with you,” he said, “Tae, Jimin-ah, you probably need to go too, they might need your help.” The four of them hurry across the street once Yeonjun claims he can run Jin’s by himself for a little bit since it’s the slow part of the day. Jihyo is at the desk typing quickly on the computer when they get there.

“Oh good, Taehyung, Jimin, you probably need to go back and see if you can help. Poor kid’s terrified,” said Jihyo, “Yoongi went back to try and help.” Moments later Yoongi came hurrying back through the doors, passing Taehyung and Jimin as they started down the hallway.

“Taeil said we might want to call Renjun,” said Yoongi, “I couldn’t get him to calm down at all. Not even a little. There’s a reason I don’t help with the kids, noona.” Jihyo nodded and gestured to the phone.

“Can you call Taeil’s kids, then?” she asked, “I’m trying to fill out the information the cops gave me for his ID booklet. He’s going to need it.” Yoongi nodded and reached for the phone.

“Hi, hyung, Soobin,” he greeted them both, “he’ll be alright. They’ll get it figured out.”

“Did they say what happened?” asked Seokjin as Yoongi called Renjun’s cell phone.

“The cops found him collapsed on a street corner a few blocks south,” said Jihyo, “they were looking for gang activity. From what I could tell, it looked like bruising and thin cuts that bled a lot. He seemed more terrified than in pain, but he was definitely wheezing even while hyperventilating so something’s wrong with his ribs. They don’t know his name or his age, but he’s a Bengal for sure. There’s nothing else he could be, purebred too I bet.”

“Bengal hybrids are expensive,” said Soobin eyes wide. Purebred Bengal hybrids were just on the edge of a luxury cat breed rather than an exotic cat breed, they were in the top three of most expensive cat hybrids, alongside Ragdolls and Persians, though they were the only one of the three that retained their expensive nature even when considered flawed. How one had ended up on the street made no sense at all.

“Do we know how he ended up alone on the street without a collar or ID?” asked Seokjin hesitant.

“Well, the cops seem to think he was abandoned,” said Jihyo, “and they’re probably right. But we won’t know for sure until he’s ready to talk to one of us.” Yoongi hung up the phone and announced that Renjun and Jaemin were on their way.

“He might not. He refused to let anyone touch him or even get close to him, just screaming and crying and trying to scratch anyone that gets to close. They’re trying not to have him moving too much, Namjoon’s worried about his ribs,” said Yoongi nodding. “Has Joon updated the list of trustworthy people with available space for a cat hybrid, yet? I know he updated the dog one yesterday.” Jihyo shook her head frowning.

“I don’t know where to even begin,” she said, “or who to call and pray that they have room for him. What do we do if we can’t find someone?”

“I have room,” said Soobin, “he can come live with me and Yeonjun-hyung. We have an extra bed.” Jihyo and Yoongi both look at him surprised.

“Oh, well that’s easy,” said Jihyo smiling, “I always forget how old you’ve gotten, Soobinnie, you’ve grown so much since you first started working with Jin years ago.” Soobin laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, noona, it’s been awhile,” he agreed.

“You’re sure, Soobin?” asked Yoongi. “He’s a mess, this is not like Jackson and Youngjae or Renjun moving in with Taeil. He’s really hurt and terrified and completely hysterical right now. It’s going to be hard.” Soobin nodded.

“I’m sure,” he said, “I want him. We have room and will do our best to help him. I know it’s not going to be easy, hyung, but you have no where else to put him and I want to try.” Jihyo nodded and started pulling out the right papers.

“Alright, I need you to sign here and here,” said Jihyo, “we’ll get him entered into the system as yours as soon as I have a name.” Soobin nodded and started signing for Jihyo. Renjun and Jaemin arrived pretty quickly and then it felt like it took ages before everyone piled out of the hallway. Renjun had the other boy’s hand in his and was doing his best to reassure him the whole way out into the lobby talking nonstop.

“Namjoon, Soobin’s going to take him home,” said Jihyo, “do you know name and birthdate or should I make up a birthdate?”

“Beomgyu,” said Namjoon moving over to look at the information on the computer and then telling her the right birthdate. Jihyo ran the papers through and printed out the ID booklet as Renjun pulled Beomgyu over to where Soobin was with Jin.

“Soobin-ah,” said Renjun, “this is Beomgyu-yah, he doesn’t want to talk, that’s okay, right?”

“Yeah,” said Soobin nodding and looking at Beomgyu, “if you don’t want to talk, that’s alright. Jungkook-hyung didn’t talk to me for months it won’t be a problem.” Beomgyu nods hesitantly, still holding tightly to Renjun.

“He doesn’t have food allergies or anything, right, Renjunnie?” asked Jaemin, “Beomgyu-yah, you don’t have food allergies?” Beomgyu shook his head quickly looking startled at Jaemin.

“That’s Nana, my brother, Beomgyu-yah, he’s nice I promise,” said Renjun nodding, “he’s like a marshmallow, way too soft to be scary.” Beomgyu nodded slightly at that and stepped closer to Renjun. His ears kept flicking around on his head, like he was trying to listen to everything happening in the lobby at once, he looked overwhelmed.

“Soobin-ah, here’s the ID and the tag,” called Jihyo holding them out to him and Soobin moved over to take them from her thanking her as he did. Beomgyu leaned closer to Renjun to whisper to him and Renjun nodded.

“Soobin-ah can take you home, Beom-ah,” said Renjun, “it’ll be a lot quieter at home, there won’t be as much going on. That’ll help.” Beomgyu nodded but looked apprehensive.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. I live really close and you can call me when you need to talk or if you want me to come over,” said Renjun nodding. “Soobin-ah has my phone number and Taeil-hyung’s phone number so he can make sure you have both and that way you can call when you need me, alright? Soobin-ah’s really nice, you’re going to be okay.” Beomgyu just nodded again.

“He’s probably overwhelmed,” said Yoongi in explanation to Soobin, “you should try to get him home and settled in pretty quick.”

“Okay, hyung,” said Soobin nodding. He put the papers and the ID in his pocket along with the tag so it didn’t get lost before returning to Renjun and Beomgyu.

“Beomgyu-yah, are you ready to go home?” asked Soobin and Beomgyu hesitated before nodding shortly. He hesitated again before slowly letting go of Renjun’s hand.

“You live in walking distance, right, Soobin-ah?” asked Renjun and Soobin nodded, “Gyu, do you want to hold onto him?” Beomgyu nodded at that and Soobin offered his hand to him quickly. A moment later Beomgyu had slipped his hand into Soobin’s and then the two of them were headed out the door, the others pouring out into the street after them, splitting up to get back to work or in Renjun and Jaemin’s case to wave goodbye and head to Jin’s.

Beomgyu’s nervous and very skittish but he doesn’t seem to have any problem with skinship, even with Yeonjun he’s equally clingy with both of them. He doesn’t say a word to either of them at all and it takes a long time to order clothes and things for his room because it took a lot of convincing from Soobin to get Beomgyu to point at the things he liked on the screen, but he seems alright after the first couple weeks. He likes to sit next to Yeonjun on the couch when Yeonjun has his books spread out in front of him to study and do homework and Yeonjun welcomes quiet company. Several weeks after Beomgyu had started living with them Beomgyu woke up when he heard Soobin moving around before the sun was up since Soobin was opening that day. Soobin’s surprised to see that he was awake when he turns around and Beomgyu’s in the doorway of the kitchen looking sad.

“Morning, Beomgyu-ah,” he greeted quietly, “want some food?” Beomgyu shook his head and stepped into the kitchen so he was close to Soobin but not moving to grab him or do anything.

“Okay,” said Soobin nodding, “Yeonjun-hyung probably won’t be up until late afternoon he doesn’t have class today until this evening. I won’t be back until probably 1 or later.” Beomgyu nods at that but he looks subdued and sad.

“Is something wrong, Gyu-ah?” asked Soobin hesitantly worried and the way Beomgyu’s ears drooped slightly on his head. Beomgyu doesn’t move for a moment before shaking his head.

“Okay,” said Soobin hoping that Beomgyu would figure out how to tell him if he decided something was wrong. They continued in silence for a few minutes.

“Seokjin-hyung said I could help him with the danishes this morning,” said Soobin mostly just to talk, “and Jungkook-hyung is going to work the mid-afternoon shift with me which will be fun. Chan-hyung is supposed to be back tonight so he and Jisung will be at dinner tomorrow again. Taeil-hyung said that Jaemin’s old owner gets out of jail in a few weeks, but they don’t think it’ll be any trouble for them. Taeil-hyung’s going to get a restraining order just to be safe though. There’s a music shop that opened around the corner recently too, Hoseok-hyung said it’s nice and the owner seems nice, he’s Yeonjun-hyung’s age apparently and runs it on his own.”

“Do you have to go, hyung?” whispered Beomgyu and Soobin turned to look at him surprised.

“Yeah, Beomie, I have work,” said Soobin nodding, “are you sure you’re okay? Are you sick? Jin-hyung will understand if I need to call in.” Beomgyu shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “sorry, I won’t keep bothering you.” He turned to leave and Soobin reached for his shoulder.

“Wait no, Gyu,” he said quickly and Beomgyu stopped in his tracks, “you’re not bothering me. Is that why you don’t talk to people? You think you’re bothering them.” Beomgyu nodded hesitantly.

“No, not at all. We want you to speak whenever you want to, Gyu-yah, no one will be upset that you’re talking to them, no one at all. I promise. And if they are you come find me and I’ll yell at them okay?” said Soobin. “We like you’re company and your opinion and having you around. Did your old owner not like it when you talked?” Beomgyu nodded hesitantly.

“I got in trouble when I talked,” he whispered quietly, “I’m not in trouble?”

“No, not at all,” said Soobin shaking his head. “Why don’t you want me to go to work today, Beom-ah?” Beomgyu chewed on his lip nervously.

“It’s quiet here,” he said finally, “and lonely and then my head doesn’t shut up.” Soobin was quiet a minute trying to figure out what to do. Technically they could wake Yeonjun up, but he hadn’t slept hardly at all last night, he had been up finishing a paper and turning it in online for the majority of it.

“Okay, what if you came with me?” suggested Soobin and Beomgyu frowned.

“To work? That’s a lot of people, hyung,” he said shaking his head.

“Me and Jungkook-hyung will both be there and Seokjin-hyung too, and if you need a break Seokjin-hyung will let you run up to his apartment for awhile,” said Soobin nodding. Beomgyu’s quiet a little longer before nodding.

“Okay, hyung,” he agreed. Soobin nodded.

“Alright, go get dressed and find your collar, we’ll leave pretty quick,” said Soobin. “Do you want me to pack you a breakfast or do you want to eat something when we get there?”

“There please, hyung,” said Beomgyu nodding before hurrying out of the kitchen. He’s back minutes later slightly out of breath, dressed and with his collar around his neck.

“You didn’t need to run, Gyu,” said Soobin slightly amused, “I’ll wait for you.” Beomgyu looked visibly surprised at that.

“Didn’t want you to leave without me, hyung,” he explained.

“I won’t leave without you ever,” said Soobin shaking his head as he led the way to the front of the apartment. He grabbed his keys and his wallet and pulled on his shoes. Beomgyu pulled on his shoes quickly.

“You might,” said Beomgyu quietly, “the last one did.”

“Well, I’m not your last owner and I won’t ever leave you ever,” said Soobin adamantly, “and Yeonjun-hyung won’t either. We love you.” Beomgyu looks up at him surprised at that.

“What?” he asked softly.

“We love you,” said Soobin nodding, “your ours now, your our brother, we’re not ever leaving you behind.”

“Oh,” said Beomgyu as Soobin turned to open the door. He followed him out into the hallway and Soobin locked the door behind them.

“Are you sure?” asked Beomgyu as they started down the stairs.

“Sure that we love you? Yeah, I’m sure,” said Soobin frowning, “why wouldn’t I be sure of that?”

“No one’s ever loved me before,” said Beomgyu shaking his head.

“Ah, that’s not true,” said Soobin, “Renjunnie has loved you since the moment he met you and he met you first. So technically Renjun-ah loved you first.” Beomgyu beams at that as they step out of the stairwell and leave the lobby.

“Renjun-hyung’s really cool,” he said nodding. He reached for Soobin’s hand when they walked out the door and onto the street and Soobin laced his fingers through Beomgyu’s as they walked.

“Yeah, he is pretty cool,” agreed Soobin. Beomgyu tightened his hold on Soobin’s hand and stepped closer as they walked. He seemed happier now and didn’t let go of Soobin’s hand until Soobin was unlocking the door to get into Jin’s. Seokjin was already in the kitchen.

“Jin-hyung?” called Soobin locking the door behind them.

“In the back, Soobinnie!” called Jin, “Hobi and Yoongi will be by in twenty minutes and we open in thirty.”

“Alright, hyung, I brought Beomgyu-yah today,” called Soobin.

“Have the two of you eaten yet? I have muffins just pulled out of the oven,” said Seokjin glancing up as Soobin led the way through the doors to the back.

“I did, hyung, but Beomgyu-yah wanted to wait until later,” said Soobin.

“Alright,” said Seokjin nodding, “help yourself to any muffin you like, Beomgyu-yah.” Beomgyu nodded slightly and moved closer to the muffins curious.

“Is Yeonjunnie coming to pick him up after classes?” asked Seokjin curious.

“No, Beomgyu-yah is going to hang out here with me today, that’s okay, right?” asked Soobin.

“Of course,” said Seokjin, “I thought he didn’t like being around people.”

“Small spaces and lots of people are overwhelming,” whispered Beomgyu over Soobin’s shoulder, making Soobin jump slightly as he realized the younger boy had picked his muffin and moved back towards them.

“As long as he has space he thinks he’ll be okay,” said Soobin nodding. “If it’s too much do you mind if he sits in the office?”

“Of course not, he can always go upstairs too. Jungkook has video games he can use and the tv is up there as well,” said Seokjin nodding seeming completely unphased that apparently Beomgyu was talking to Soobin now.

“Thanks, hyung,” said Soobin nodding. Seokjin nodded and then started giving him instructions on helping with the danishes. Beomgyu doesn’t have any problems throughout the day, hanging out near the end of the counter for the first part of the morning watching Jungkook make drinks before moving to one of the booths in the corner of the room to watch out the window as it gets busier throughout the day. Beomgyu starts coming to work with Soobin everyday after that and gets a little bit more confident when he talks to Soobin as the days go by. He gets louder when he talks to Jungkook too who is perfectly happy to talk with the younger hybrid about anything and everything. It takes him almost two weeks to talk to Taehyung and Jimin though both of the dog hybrids greet him cheerfully every morning when they pick up breakfast for Bangtan. And slowly but surely Beomgyu starts to be okay and Soobin knows that he and Yeonjun had made the right decision.

Months later Soobin wakes up disoriented in the middle of the night and on the otherside of the room sees Yeonjun sit up in bed rubbing at his eyes.

“What?” asked Soobin confused as to why they were both awake. Muffled sobbing sounded slightly and they both were out of bed in seconds and hurrying towards Beomgyu’s room.

“Beomgyu?” asked Yeonjun reaching his room first and knocking on the door before opening it. Beomgyu is sitting up in bed and has his knees pulled up to his chest as he tries to stop crying.

“Beomgyu-ah, hey you’re okay,” said Soobin moving over quickly, Yeonjun steps behind him. Beomgyu practically throws himself into Soobin’s arms sobbing against him and Soobin holds onto him tightly, both of them trying to soothe the youngest until he finally stops crying.

“Are you okay, Beomie?” asked Soobin gently when Beomgyu’s breathing evens out enough that he’s not shaking anymore. Yeonjun is sat right next to them, scratching Beomgyu’s ears gently, trying to provide as much comfort as he could while Soobin held him.

“M’okay. I’m sorry for waking you,” whispered Beomgyu.

“That’s okay, Beomgyu-ah,” said Soobin. “Do you want to talk about it? That’s the second time you’ve woken up from a nightmare inconsolable in the past three days.” Beomgyu’s quiet a minute.

“You died,” he said finally, “you got really hurt and you died and then the police put me in the shelter and I don’t want to go away I like it here. Please don’t leave me.” 

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Soobin holding him tighter. “I’m okay, see. I’m right here, nothing happened and you’re alright. Nothing will happen to you. Even if something does happen to me, Yeonjun-hyung will make sure you’re okay.”

“Junnie-hyung doesn’t want to own a hybrid,” whispered Beomgyu shaking his head, “remember, hyung. Junnie-hyung’s uncomfortable with owning another person.”

“Gyu-ah, if on the very small chance something happened to Soobinnie, I’d take you in a heartbeat,” said Yeonjun, “you’re not losing this, you’re okay. And if I couldn’t Seokjin-hyung would make room for you too. Hell, we can go to Bangtan in the morning and I’ll sign secondary ownership papers if it’ll make you feel better.” Beomgyu looks over Soobin’s shoulder at Yeonjun confused and still teary eyed.

“But, hyung doesn’t like it?” he asked nervously. It wasn’t the first time he had spoken to Yeonjun but it was the first time it hadn’t just been a yes or no response to a question.

“No, I don’t,” agreed Yeonjun, “but I like you and I won’t let anything happen to you, okay? If you being okay means I sign secondary ownership papers so that no one can fight me on having you then I’ll sign the papers, alright? Would that help?” Beomgyu nods and wiggles in Soobin’s lap until Soobin lets go of him and he can tackle Yeonjun into a hug. Yeonjun laughs as he falls back onto the bed holding tightly to Beomgyu.

“Thank you, Junnie-hyung,” he whispered quietly.

“Of course, Beomgyu-ah, we love you, you’re going to be okay now,” said Yeonjun nodding.

“I love hyungs too,” said Beomgyu nodding and Soobin couldn’t stop himself from joining the hug causing Yeonjun to complain about being squished but Beomgyu seemed so happy that he didn’t complain too much.

Near the end of that year the last editions to the small family that Soobin had naively assumed was already full with the three of them arrived. He really should have known better after watching how many people their friends had welcomed into their families over the years. But he had still been surprised by the adorable and awkward boy that one day showed up at Jin’s asking if they were hiring in nervous and accented Korean. They weren’t but Soobin and Yeonjun had spent an entire hour that afternoon helping Kai map out the shops on the street that might be hiring and would be good to ask and helping him organize his resume. Kai comes by regularly from there almost every afternoon for three weeks as he slowly makes his way down the street. He’s sweet and adorable and is so excited when Soobin and Yeonjun both do their best to use English with him and to help him with his Korean at the same time. They learn he’s from Hawaii originally and had moved out to live with his aunt because he wanted to come to Korea for school, but the Korean he had learned at home hadn’t been enough to communicate beyond the basics. He loves music and wants to pursue it someday and is always happy to talk about almost anything under the sun. Beomgyu likes him immediately and when Youngjae finds out he laughs and tells Beomgyu that it was just that Kai triggered the hyung instincts that Beomgyu didn’t know he had, and that the same thing had happened when Youngjae met BamBam. Halfway through the fourth week of Kkai coming by regularly he shows up with a calico cat hybrid only a little smaller than Beomgyu trailing behind him, and they meet Taehyun. Taehyun’s a little hesitant and confused, but is obviously trying his best to be what Kai needs from him and it’s only a few days until he seems to adjust and open right up. He has his own insecurities over the next few months but constantly being with Kai and around Beomgyu and then Hyunjin when Kai finds a job working at On Track seems to help more than anything else they could possibly do. So, while he’s still not quite sure how he got hired at Jin’s, it’s definitely the best thing that ever happened to him and he wouldn’t trade working there for the world. His small family of brothers made life better than anything he could have found anywhere else and besides, if you ever wanted to know anything that was going on in the community, Jin’s was the place to go. Years later when Seokjin hires new kids to help out and Yeonjun moves across the street to Bangtan, Soobin can’t help but be happy that now more people will be able to join their group and maybe even find their own families through Jin’s and Soobin soon finds himself helping Jungkook train the new kids and teach them how to make food and Soobin is happy.

**Author's Note:**

> i had this partially written and then rewrote the whole thing because i decided i want to do it from Soobin's point of view instead of Beomgyu's so this fic that should have been done in december instead was written last night 
> 
> Animals for hybrids because i spent way too much time on this!   
> Beomgyu - Bengal Cat  
> Taehyun - Korean Shorthair (Calico)   
> Han Jisung - American Fuzzy Lop Bunny   
> Jungkook - English Lop Bunny   
> Yoongi - Scottish Fold Cat  
> Taehyung - Treeing Walker Coonhound   
> Jimin - Schipperke Dog   
> Renjun - American Shorthair Cat  
> Jaemin - Boston Terrier Dog
> 
> i really hope that's everyone because i honestly don't remember who is in this fic 
> 
> there's more on the way i'm working on an nct one and a seventeen one and eventually there will be more ateez in this series and there are still ideas for stray kids i have no idea which of these will be done first or when but there will be more! 
> 
> school started back up and it's officially my last semester and i'm tired already but it's my last semester so yay! but that's also terrifying because now i have to go be a real adult this summer and surely i'm not old enough for that yet XD 
> 
> this is as always not edited but at some point in the future will be XD 
> 
> thank you for reading!!! i love you all!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡


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